Immune Support Star Anise With Black Elderberry Extract

About Immune Support Star Anise With Black Elderberry Extract

 

What is Star Anise and Black Elderberry Extract?

Star Anise is a herb (extracted from the Chinese spice star anise Illicium verum). It is the raw ingredient used to produce Shikimic acid, an ingredient in the anti-flu drug Tamiflu.

In 2005, there was a temporary shortage of star anise due to its use in making Tamiflu in the wake of the bird flu epidemic.

Late in that year, a way was found of making shikimic acid artificially. Roche (pharmaceutical company) now derives some of the raw material it needs from fermenting E. coli bacteria.

The 2009 swine flu outbreak has led to another series of star anise shortages as stocks of Tamiflu are built up around the world, sending prices soaring.

Flavonoids, including quercetin, are believed to account for the therapeutic actions of the elderberry flowers and berries which make up the extract.

These flavonoids include anthocyanins that are powerful antioxidants and protect cells against damage according to test tube studies.

 

What Does Star Anise & Elderberry Extract Actually Do?

Star Anise

According to research by the pharmaceutical company Roche, Shikimic Acid is protective against the flu virus.

Black Elderberry Extract

Black Elderberry Extract has antiviral properties, especially against different strains of influenza virus.

Research on one product based on a standardized black elderberry extract concluded that it was effective in-vitro against 10 strains of influenza virus and reduced the duration of flu symptoms to 3-4 days.

Black Elderberry extract activates the healthy immune system by increasing inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines production.

Research using a combination of shikimic acid (star anise) and quercitin (present in black elderberry) has found the combination, even at low doses, may be effective for the modulation of innate immunity.

 

How To Take/Use Star Anise + Black Elderberry Extract

DIRECTIONS

Take 2 capsules per day for a period of 10 days. Each bottle provides 10 doses of 2 capsules (20 capsules in total)

CAUTION

• Do NOT exceed the Stated Dose.
• Store in a cool dry place.
• NOT intended for use by persons under the age of 18.
• Always consult your GP before taking Nutritional Supplements, especially if you are taking medication.
• Consult you GP if pregnant or lactating
• Keep out of reach of children.
• You should not take supplements as a substitute for a varied balanced diet.
• The safe internal use of elderberry is limited to the use of the dried flowers or syrups made from the ripe berries. The roots, stems, leaves, and unripe berries may contain poisonous constituents that can cause nausea, vomiting, and diarrhoea. Preparations containing any of these parts of the elder plant should be avoided. OUR Elderberry ONLY contains SAFE extracts
• No known drug interactions.

 

Ingredients

Ingredients:

Star Anise Extract 1600mg
Black Elderberry Extract 600mg

Other Ingredients:

Magnesium Stearate and Microcrystalline Cellulose.

Made In The UK

All Healthspark products are UK manufactured and produced in an EPA and FDA registered facility.

All of our products are manufactured to the highest standards (GMP standards and ISO 2000:9001 quality assurance certification).

Can you say the same of your current vitamin/mineral supplier?

Barak V, Halperin T, Kalickman I. The effect of Sambucol, a black elderberry-based, natural product, on the production of human cytokines: I. Inflammatory cytokines. Eur Cytokine Netw. 2001 Apr-Jun;12(2):290-6

Immunology Laboratory for Tumor Diagnosis, Department of Oncology, Hadassah University Hospital, Jerusalem, Israel.

Sambucus nigra L. products - Sambucol - are based on a standardized black elderberry extract. They are natural remedies with antiviral properties, especially against different strains of influenza virus.

Sambucol was shown to be effective in vitro against 10 strains of influenza virus. In a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized study, Sambucol reduced the duration of flu symptoms to 3-4 days.

Convalescent phase serum showed a higher antibody level to influenza virus in the Sambucol group, than in the control group. The present study aimed to assess the effect of Sambucol products on the healthy immune system - namely, its effect on cytokine production. The production of inflammatory cytokines was tested using blood - derived monocytes from 12 healthy human donors. Adherent monocytes were separated from PBL and incubated with different Sambucol preparations i.e., Sambucol Elderberry Extract, Sambucol Black Elderberry Syrup, Sambucol Immune System and Sambucol for Kids. Production of inflammatory cytokines (IL-1 beta, TNF-alpha, IL-6, IL-8) was significantly increased, mostly by the Sambucol Black Elderberry Extract (2-45 fold), as compared to LPS, a known monocyte activator (3.6-10.7 fold).

The most striking increase was noted in TNF-alpha production (44.9 fold).

We conclude from this study that, in addition to its antiviral properties, Sambucol Elderberry Extract and its formulations activate the healthy immune system by increasing inflammatory cytokine production.

Sambucol might therefore be beneficial to the immune system activation and in the inflammatory process in healthy individuals or in patients with various diseases. Sambucol could also have an immunoprotective or immunostimulatory effect when administered to cancer or AIDS patients, in conjunction with chemotherapeutic or other treatments. In view of the increasing popularity of botanical supplements, such studies and investigations in vitro, in vivo and in clinical trials need to be developed.

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Stockpiling of raw material for oseltamivir is not justified

Alberto A E Bertelli, research physician - Department of Human Morphology, University of Milan, via Mangiagalli 31, 20133 Milan, Italy

References

Editor - Mudur reports that Roche has granted a sublicence for the production of the antiviral drug oseltamivir (Tamiflu) to an Indian company and points out that the supply of raw material, shikimic acid (extracted from the Chinese spice star anise Illicium verum), is limited.1

• We did not find any effect of shikimic acid (1 μmol/l-10 pmol/l) on the release of two predictors of antiviral activity—cytokines interleukin-8 (IL8) and interleukin-6 (IL6)2—in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells or when the mononuclear cells were stimulated by lipopolysaccharide.3 We also tested quercetin, another natural polyphenol found with shikimic acid in plants such as Hypericum laricifolium (romerillo) and Cyclopia subternata (honeybush tea)—traditional herbal remedies used in Ecuador and South Africa. Only the concomitant presence of the two compounds (concentration 10 pmol/l) produced a nearly twofold increase in IL8 (9440 (SD 778) pg/ml v 5657 (247) pg/ml) and an 18-fold increase in IL6 (3959 (2479) v 216 (52) pg/ml) compared with controls.
• Other less well known, but more common sources of shikimic acid are grape juice and white wine. The analysis of six Italian and four Austrian white wines yielded concentrations of shikimic acid of 15-27 mg/l and quercetin up to 10.6 mg/l.
  
  Competing interests: None declared.
  References
  1.Mudur G. Indian firm to produce oseltamivir for developing countries. BMJ 2006;332: 5. (7 January.).
  2.Barak V, Halperin T, Kalickman I. The effect of sambucol, a black elderberry-based, natural product, on the production of human cytokines. I. Inflammatory cytokines. Eur Cytokine Netw 2001;12: 290-6. [PubMed]

The risk of an avian influenza pandemic has put oseltamivir (Tamiflu) in the spotlight and has given rise to rumors that shikimic acid (SK), which is used for the synthesis of Tamiflu, possesses therapeutic activity. This study was undertaken to determine whether SK, either alone or in combination with quercitin (QT) is able to modulate the release of IL-6 and IL-8 from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). The experiments were conducted comparing the properties of SK, both alone and in combination, with those of Tamiflu. The incubation of PBMCs with 100 nM Tamiflu or SK at two concentrations (10 nM; 100 nM) did not produce any change in IL-6 and IL-8 baseline levels (data expressed as incremental change vs. baseline). On the contrary, incubation with SK and QT at both concentrations (10 and 100 nM) produced a significant increase in the release of IL-8 as compared to other groups (4.19 +/- 0.82, SK-QT 10 nM; 3.83 +/- 1.17 SK-QT 100 nM, P < 0.05 vs. baseline 1.00 +/- 0.10, Tamiflu 100 nM 1.35 +/- 0.16, SK 10 nM 1.68 +/- 0.15 and SK 100 nM 1.80 +/- 0.48). The SK-QT combination also proved to be effective in the upregulation of IL-6 (3.08 +/- 0.46, SK-QT 10 nM; 3.60 +/- 0.74 SK-QT 100 nM, P < 0.05 vs. baseline 1.00 +/- 0.26). According to these findings SK alone is not able to modulate innate immunity in antiviral terms. However, the data show that the SK + QT combination, even at low doses, may be effective for the modulation of innate immunity.

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Barak V, Birkenfeld S, Halperin T, Kalickman I.

The effect of herbal remedies on the production of human inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines. Isr Med Assoc J. 2002 Nov;4(11 Suppl):919-22

Immunology Laboratory for Tumor Diagnosis, Department of Oncology, Hadassah University Hospital, Jerusalem, Israel. barak845@yahoo.com

BACKGROUND: Some herbal remedies are sold as food additives and are believed to have immune-enhancing properties.

OBJECTIVES: To study the effect of five herbal remedies--Sambucol Black Elderberry Extract, Sambucol Active Defense Formula and Sambucol for Kids (with known antiviral properties), Protec and Chizukit N (containing propolis and Echinacea, claimed to be immune enhancers)--on the production of cytokines, one of the main components of the immune system.

METHODS: The production of four inflammatory cytokines (interleukin-1 beta, tumor necrosis factor alpha, and IL-6 and IL-8) and one anti-inflammatory cytokine (IL-10) was tested using blood-derived monocytes from 12 healthy donors.

RESULTS: The Sambucol preparations increased the production of five cytokines (1.3-6.2 fold) compared to the control. Protec induced only a moderate production of IL-8 (1.6 fold) and IL-10 (2.3 fold) while Chizukit N caused only a moderate increase in IL-10 production (1.4 fold). Both Protec and Chizukit N caused moderate decreases in IL-1 beta, TNF alpha and IL-6 production. Lipopolysaccharide, a known activator of monocytes, induced the highest levels of cytokine production (3.6-10.7 fold).

CONCLUSIONS: The three Sambucol formulations activate the healthy immune system by increasing inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines production, while the effect of Protec and Chizukit N is much less. Sambucol could therefore have immunostimulatory properties when administered to patients suffering from influenza (as shown before), or immunodepressed cancer or AIDS patients who are receiving chemotherapy or other treatments.